"Cruise" doesn't move

Thursday, June 13, 2013 – Cruise is stuck, and that's quite alright with Florida Georgia Line as the song remained atop the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week ending June 22. Blake Shelton held the top spot on the Country Albums chart with "Based on a True Story..."

The big news, however, was the debut of Cassadee Pope with Wasting All These Tears debuting at seventh. FGL also was ninth with Get Your Shine On. Carrie Underwood went from 17 to 14 with See You Again. Brett Eldredge's Don't Ya is at 18, up 4. Keith Urban stood at 19, up 6, with Little Bit of Everything.

Newcomer Tyler Farr cracked the top 25 with Redneck Crazy at 24, up 3. Justin Moore closed out the top 25 with Point At You, up 3.

On the album chart, Rucker was second again with "True Believers." FGL was third with "Here's to the Good Times." George Strait held fourth with "Love is Everything," one ahead of "Golden" by Lady Antebellum. LeAnn Rimes debuted in ninth with "Spitfire." Kacey Musgraves jumped from 23 to 18 with "Same Trailer Different Park." Underwood was at 19 with "Blown Away," up 3. Hunter Hayes' self-titled debut was at 21, up 4.

Lonestar debuted at 33 with "Life As We Know It," featuring the band's original line-up. Gretchen Wilson went from 45 to 40 with "Under the Covers," a covers album.

On the Bluegrass Albums chart, Steve Martin & Edie Brickell stayed first with "Love Has Come For You." Steven Curtis Chapman was second with "Deep Roots," Old Crow Medicine Show third with "Carry Me Back," Dailey & Vincent fourth with "Brothers of the Highway" and Della Mae fifth with "This World Oft Can Be." Joy Kills Sorrow debuted in sixth with "Wide Awake."

On the top 200 chart, Shelton was 4th, Rucker 5th, FGL 8th, Strait 15th and Lady A 17th.

CD reviews for Florida Georgia Line

From the ribbits and Dobro on "Smooth," the lead-off song, one might think that Florida Georgia Line is eschewing its rap rock meets country past for something completely different. While at times that is true - "Smooth" has a swampy beat - Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard haven't veered so far from what brought them to the dance.
That is evident with the title track where the thwack of drum programming from long-time producer Joey Moi meets the soulful, somewhat shiny vocals. »»»

The title of Florida Georgia Line's second full length is accurate. For the duo of Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelly, that means girls, girls and more girls plus an ultra dose of partying.
That is evident from the refrain of the title track, which, of course, focuses on Friday night activities. "I brought the songs and you brought the party/
Only one way to do it up right/Everybody goes where eveybody knows/That anything goes on a Friday Night/Get your party right/It's a Friday night. »»»

Perhaps a few fans didn't get enough of Florida Georgia Line's "Here's to the Good Times," which came out in December 2012. That release contained all five songs of the duo's second EP "It'z Just What We Do" from May 2012. Not to mention the super uber mega-hit Cruise and fellow number ones Get Your Shine On, Round Here and Stay.
With "This is How We Roll," Tyler Hubbard (he's the one with the longer hair) and Brian Kelly follow the »»»

Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»

Concert Review: Outlaw likes it hot –
Sam Outlaw noted a few times how hot it was inside the small club with about 50 people cramming in near the stage. Outlaw was talking about the warmth of the venue, but he could just as well - he would have had to have been egotistical, of course - have been talking about the quality of his music as well.
Once again, the traditionally-based west coast... »»»

Concert Review: AmericanaFest stays ahead of the curve –
If the Americana Festival and Conference proves anything, it's that anything and everything born of genuine roots can be classified as Americana. It doesn't matter whether it originates from the heartland, the swamps of the south, the outer reaches of California, the mountains of Appalachia, or as far afield as the Australian outback and the... »»»

William Shakespeare noted a few centuries back that a rose by any other
name would be equally aromatic, and that general idea has musical
implications as well. The Cadillac Three knows a thing or two about maintaining
a sonic identity after a name change;... »»»

Those aware of the late Owsley "Bear" Stanley likely know him for one of two reasons - his pioneering work manufacturing lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in San Francisco during the mid-to-late 1960s and his role as an innovative sound engineer. Most notably, Bear worked...... »»»

Headed into 2015, Imelda May was on a hit streak. Her rockabilly career was in full swing, nurtured by the likes of former Squeeze keyboardist Jools Holland and guitar icon Jeff Beck. Her albums routinely topped the charts in her native Ireland.... »»»

When last we visited a new album from Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers, 2011's "Rare Bird Alert," we found a cohesive, focused collection of bluegrass; it was an expansive, artistic creation that only benefited the bluegrass community. A subsequent live album (strikingly entitled "Live") presented a continued refinement of this pairing's chemistry. »»»

With all the memorable music Chris Hillman created with The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers and Desert Rose Band, he has nothing left to prove. He's a both a bona fide rock and country icon. Tom Petty, who owes an obvious debt to Hillman's...
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Billy Strings. It takes a lot of nerve to adopt such a nom de plume (in this case nom de guerre might be more appropriate) in the bluegrass world, but Billy Strings is up to the challenge, and more. Strings (real name William Apostol) grew up in Michigan, surrounded by musicians. »»»

Larry Campbell and Teresa Campbell could have been content to retain their status as musicians on call, given the fact that they've loaned their services to any number of high profile employers -- Bob Dylan, Rosanne Cash, Mavis Staples, Levon Helm, Little... »»»

Right off the bat, the title of Old Dominion's album "Happy Endings" is far better than "Meat and Candy," its prior effort. ("Meat" in an album title? Really?) But also on an artistic level, OD's follow-up shows signs of growth. With that said, though... »»»